The YotaPhone 2 may seem like a relatively standard smartphone running Android 4.4, but it harbors one major twist: it has a second display on the back, and it’s no ordinary screen. This oddball device effectively crams a five-inch AMOLED display and a 4.7-inch e-ink display into a single pocket-sized device.

In 2012 it was a flexible e-ink display. In 2013 it was the slightly flexible OLED display used in the G Flex smartphone. And now in 2014 LG has produced a massive, 18-inch OLED display that can be rolled up into a tight cylinder with a radius of just 3 centimeters (1.2 inches). In addition, LG has also announced an 18-inch OLED display that is highly transparent. By 2017, LG thinks it can combine both of these prototypes to create a 60-inch, UHD (4K) display that is both flexible and transparent. Is the dream of a flexible, fold-up ‘e-paper’ display finally upon us? Is that the death knell of the printed page that I can hear tolling in the distance?

Researchers at the University of Iowa have discovered a method of converting magnetic data into optical data for free, without external electricity. This is a very big step towards flexible, cheap, throwaway plastic computers, which are gaining in popularity due to society’s recent shift towards mobile computing and “quantified self” activity monitors.

If you ever wondered how Apple made the iPad Air lighter, thinner, and significantly smaller than its predecessor, here’s the answer: IGZO. IGZO, or indium gallium zinc oxide, is the future of high-resolution displays, allowing for significantly higher pixel densities and reducing power consumption. The technology has been on the verge of commercial adoption for years, and now, as with other emerging technologies in the past, Apple will shepherd IGZO to market with the iPad Air.

Companies like Samsung and LG have been increasingly relying on OLED display technologies for smartphones, digital cameras, and even TVs. A new type of OLED panel could make screens more energy efficient and cheaper at the same time.

Believe it or not, the curved screen on the Samsung Galaxy Round smartphone isn’t just a marketing gimmick: The curvature actually causes a series of optical effects that result in improved contrast, color accuracy, readability, and overall image quality — especially under ambient light that usually makes smartphone screens almost unreadable, such as daylight or fluorescent office lighting.

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